CHAD DAVIES

Partner, Grant Thornton LLP, 38

Those weekends that a young Chad Davies spent helping his grandfather cut the grass and pull weeds in his duties as the maintenance man for a bank were Mr. Davies' first lesson in the importance of doing things right the first time.

“The one thing I was always taught was you do things right or you do nothing at all,” Mr. Davies said. “It was more work for him if I didn't do it right.”

That doesn't mean Mr. Davies rules with an iron fist at Grant Thornton LLP, the accounting firm for which he's worked since 2002. Quite the contrary, it seems.

“Chad likes to have a good time, and he likes to facilitate other people having a good time,” said Thomas P. Freeman, tax practice leader for Cleveland for Grant Thornton. “He's always the life of the party ... always sort of the first one to say, "Let's go do a happy hour. You guys have been working hard.'

“Chad is a leader,” he said. “He has developed a state and local practice that I think is one of the best in the firm. He's a great judge of talent, and he's a great developer of people.”

At age 38, Mr. Davies is a partner overseeing 10 people in the state and local tax service practice in this market for Grant Thornton, which has 56 offices in the United States.

Mr. Davies and his practice help clients in a variety of industries navigate the complex tax world and tax controversies that are resulting from more state audits.

The Strongsville native always found that math came easy, and in what he calls a natural progression, he studied accounting at what now is known as Baldwin Wallace University. Right out of the gate, he worked for Arthur Andersen LLP in 1996.

While Mr. Davies is proud of making partner at Grant Thornton last August, he talks more about helping the firm's other people grow.

“Our people are critical to the business,” he said. “You've got to understand they're going to make mistakes, and you've got to learn that those are teachable moments.”

Mr. Davies, it seems, is returning what was done for him when a tenured partner took Mr. Davies under his wing at Arthur Andersen.

“This profession is more than about knowing the tax law, knowing the tax code,” Mr. Davies said the man told him. “It's being genuine and taking an interest and getting to know (clients) on a personal level, not just a business level.”

It's clear Mr. Davies lives that lesson in the “very strong rapport” Mr. Freeman said he builds with clients.

Mr. Davies lives in Medina with his wife, Jennifer, their 9-year-old son, Evan, and 5-year-old daughter, Lauren. He is chairman of the board for Mental Health Services for Homeless Persons Inc.

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